Franchise-based sportscar racing league, X1 Racing League – the brainchild of Indian racing drivers Armaan Ebrahim and Aditya Patel – has announced its expansion into virtual racing, with the eSports competition slated to be held across major cities in India.

According to a statement released by the series, the various rounds of the new X1 eSports League will be held in colleges and malls across eight cities in India. Participants will compete on an eSports racing simulator over a span of seven days in each city, and the top 50 individuals with the best lap times will then move on to the finals. Five winners with the best lap times will be announced at the end of the competition and they will get the chance to be part of a professional racing team and test drive the X1 Racing League car. Additionally, winners will also receive training for professional racing from Ebrahim and Patel.

Registrations for the X1 eSports League will be held both online and offline a week prior to the commencement of the round in each city and anyone above the age of 15 years will be eligible to register. While the specifics of the registration process will be announced at a later date, the series has confirmed that it will be free of cost and will be conducted on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Commenting on the new initiative, Armaan Ebrahim said: “eSports is certainly getting bigger and bigger, and has become the go-to hunting ground for young and aspiring race drivers. We are seeing Formula 1 integrate eSports and there are certainly immense possibilities for this in our country too. There is a huge potential untapped in our country when it comes to eSports racing or even real track racing. With the inception of our India-centric eSports competition, X1 eSports, we are moving a step towards filling that void.”

“With the onset of X1 eSports in India we are not just aiming aim to give recognition to the eSports culture and e-racers, but we also try to bring out the best of the talents and train them to represent India in real racing on world level,” added Aditya Patel.